[j-nsp] Juniper M7i and M10i equivalents from Cisco and Foundry worlds

[sthaug at nethelp.no]

> I have a task of enhancing natural diversity in our network. As part of 
> this task I need to find best matches for M7i and M10i from Foundry and 
> Cisco product lines in regard of feature set/expansibility. After looking 
> at the manufacturers web sites I have a preliminary table of equivalents:
> 
> Jiniper         Foundry         Cisco
> M7i             XMR 4000                7301
> M10i            XMR 4000                7304/7603
> 
> I'd be grateful if you could confirm these choices as close matches or 
> suggested alternatives.

It's not obvious that sensible matches exist. For instance:

- Cisco 7301 is a software based forwarding box. Depending on your
requirements, that may or may not be acceptable. In any case, don't
expect line rate with minimum size packets from such a box.

- The Cisco 7600 series is basically a switch platform. In a previous
job we used it successfully for lots of L2 *and* plain (Internet, BGP
peering) L3, and it worked very well for us in these areas. It fell
down completely when we tried to use it for MPLS VPNs. Note that this
was before Sup720 existed.

- I have heard quite a few horror stories about the L3 capabilities of
Foundry and Extreme equipment. I don't know if this is still relevant
today - but solid L3 (and OSPF/IS-IS/BGP) performance is critial to a
service provider (which I work for).

If your requirements are simple, you can find lots of less expensive
boxes that will outperform M7i/M10i (e.g. a Cisco 3560 switch with an
EMI license will do lots of Mbps and pps *and* run OSPF/BGP, as long
as you don't need a full routing table or any other medium than plain
Ethernet).

Just some thoughts...

Steinar Haug, Nethelp consulting, sthaug at nethelp.no